WHILE THE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS DRAWS ATTENTION, ANTI-CHRISTIAN CHAOS IN NIGERIA CONTINUES

Sometimes, good news can be misleading. As we hear of the continued victories over ISIS, see the Islamic Terrorists driven out of Northern Iraq and Christians returning to their villages and homes, it can be tempting to take a deep breath and heave a sigh of relief.

Yes, there is much to be done. Those Christian villages and homes were utterly devastated. The churches desecrated. And Solidarity with the Persecuted Church…through your generous help…is helping Christians in Iraq rebuild their lives. There is work to do, but victory is at hand.

Not so in Nigeria. Boko Haram has been terrorizing the country since 2009, and the group boasts of several thousand fighters. Throughout the last year, fighting between the armed organization and the Nigerian military has left at least 20,000 people dead and more than 2.6 million displaced in northeastern Nigeria.

The fighting has resulted in the closure of more than half of all the schools in the country’s northeastern state of Borno and over 1,000 churches have been destroyed. The bloodshed has also devastated farmers and resulted in chronic food shortages that have left hundreds of thousands of people in the region dependent on aid agencies for help and teetering on the brink of starvation.

The focus of Boko Haram’s treachery? Nigerian Christians, of course. Boko Haram swears allegiance to ISIS and is pledged to drive Christian infidels from the country.

Solidarity with the Persecuted Church is fighting that hatred with the most powerful weapon of all — The Love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The evil that is Islamic Terrorism is not limited to Iraq or Syria. This week, please say a special prayer for the faithful Christians of Nigeria. We will not forget them.